Saw blades, such as circular saw blades, typically comprise a relatively flat, heavy article made of hardened steel or other strong, rigid material. A plurality of relatively sharp teeth are formed around the periphery of the saw blade for cutting an article during use. The size, weight and sharpness of the saw blades make packaging of the blades difficult. Further, theft prevention of the blades must be considered in any blade package.
Saw blades have been packaged in full clam shells where the package comprises a clear plastic package folded along one edge to create full plastic front and back sides. The front and back sides are joined together by pressure buttons to seal the clam shell. While such an arrangement retains the saw blades, the full clam shell uses a significant amount of relatively expensive plastic material. The sealing of the clam shell is also labor intensive. As a result, the full plastic clam shell is an expensive package. Also, the sustainability of such packaging from an environmental perspective is less than desirable because of the relatively large amount of plastic that is used. Another type of packaging for saw blades is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,468 where a relatively thick molded plastic case is used to retain the saw blades. Such a package also uses a relatively large amount of plastic and does not completely isolate the saw blade from the external environment. Other similar saw blade packages comprise a relatively thick molded shell that covers the front and back of the blades. Such packages also use a relatively large amount of plastic and may cover significant portions of the front of the blade such that it may be difficult for a prospective purchaser to inspect the blade. Skin cards are also used for packaging saw blades. Skin cards typically comprise a sheet of paperboard on which the saw blade is placed where a thin sheet of transparent plastic is heat sealed over the product. Skin cards use less material, but are more labor intensive than clam shells and the package does not stand up well to the heavy, sharp saw blades.
An improved package for a saw blade is desired.